Tomorrow is the big day...

  Six years ago, tomorrow, God gave us the first of many special gifts.  She was the answer to our prayers and was so amazing!  It wasn't an easy pregnancy.  We discovered early on that I didn't have normal morning sickness, instead it was a condition we later discovered was called Hypermesis Gravidarum.  We were in it for the long haul and Scott was wonderful, considering that we'd only been married about 6 months when he ended up taking care of me.  It was more the fact that he had to fix his meals again.  I wasn't eating much and when I think of how God kept Elyssia safe inside of me and helped her to get all her nutrients when I wasn't able to eat more than oranges and crackers every once in a while, I stand amazed.  She is and was so brilliantly smart from such a young age, that I just marvel at how God created her and helped her to get grow healthy, in spite of what I was going through. She looked at books with interest from 2 months of age and pushed buttons on her lighted aquarium around the same time. She started rolling over and crawling at 4 months of age, when those around her were content to stay put.  By 7 months she was walking and said Dada.  It was only the beginning... By a year she had between 20 and 50 words in her vocabulary and by a year and a half she had potty-trained herself and was talking sentences, carrying on conversations like a miniature adult.  She spoiled us with her advanced skills and by the time we had Garrison she had turned 2 and assumed that he was her baby too.  A mini mommy.  Not always a good thing, but many times a blessing, as she is very helpful when things get busy.  The best day in her life was the day she realized she was a sinner and asked Jesus to forgive her and be her personal Saviour. There was a change that happened that day.  She gave her first testimony in church that night and it was something I'll never forget.  There are still "those" kind of days in her life, but they aren't so frequent.  We know better, from our own lives, that we won't see perfection, but with the Holy Spirit inside of her we can talk to God and ask HIM to work in her life on those days:).  Such a blessing to know that we'll be taking our 1st blessing with us up to Heaven! Another great moment in Elyssia's life was the day she realized that she could read pretty much anything:).  A whole new world was opened up to her and she has since exclaimed with excitement, "now I can read my Bible myself!"  Other things I thank the Lord for, include her burden for souls, wanting all her little friends to be saved.  I pray the Lord opens up opportunities for her and that their hearts(and their parents) would be open to hearing the Gospel and receiving God's gift of salvation.  So, although there may be regrets on my part that we haven't done everything right in the past 6 years as parents, I don't regret her being 6.  It's been a very busy and productive 6 years.  I'm thankful that the Lord spared her life during the pregnancy.  There were times where I wondered how she would be okay when I was losing so much weight and having trouble keeping down water, but God took care of everything.  I believe HE has a purpose and a plan for her life and pray that WE will do our part to help her SEE and DO HIS will. I thought of posting a pic from each year, but we switched computers and haven't transferred all the pics.  Yet another sign of her growth is 2 bottom teeth that are loose and ready to fall out any day now.  Now it's off to treasure the moments with the almost Birthday girl and her 3 siblings:)  Til next time...